Constables Rachel McCrow & Constable Matthew ArnoldPrint Page

The memorial was erected in memory of murdered police officers Constable Rachel McCrow & Constable Matthew Arnold who were shot and killed at a property at Wiembilla on the 12th December 2022.

A neighbour Alan Dare was also killed when he went to investigate. Two other police officers survived the shooting. 

The Wieambilla police shootings were a religiously motivated terrorist attack. In February 2023, Deputy Police Commissioner Tracy Linford said that "We [Queensland Police] don't believe this attack was random or spontaneous" and that "There is absolutely no evidence at this time that there is anyone else in Australia that participated or assisted in this attack." Linford further stated that the Trains were religious extremists who subscribed to "a broad Christian fundamentalist belief system known as premillennialism.   

Two police constables from nearby Tara and two further constables from Chinchilla attended the property in two police vehicles at Wieambilla, a rural locality 270 kilometres (170 mi) northwest of the state capital, Brisbane. The two groups met at the locked entrance to the property at about 4:30 p.m. and after receiving no response jumped the fence and approached the residence.

Residents then shot at the police in what was described as an ambush and an execution. Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold were wounded and then fatally shot again at close range, and had their weapons taken.The two remaining police, one of whom was wounded by glass fragments (and later hospitalised), escaped to raise the alarm. The perpetrators then lit a grass fire to try to locate an officer who had hidden there. A neighbour, Alan Dare, investigating the grass fire, was fatally shot in the back. Following the murders, Gareth and Stacey posted an online video under their middle names, Daniel and Jane. Gareth said "they came to kill us and we killed them", referring to police as "devils and demons".

A six-hour siege followed, with 16 specialist police officers from the Specialist Emergency Response Team (SERT) and a police helicopter responding to the incident. Shortly after 10:30 p.m., SERT officers breached the property and fatally shot all of the alleged perpetrators: Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train.

Location

Address:	32 Constance Street, Miles Police Station, Miles, 4415
State:	QLD
Area:	AUS
GPS Coordinates:	Lat: -26.657321 Long: 150.185731 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.

View Google Map

Details

Monument Type:	Monument
Monument Theme:	People
Sub-Theme:	Crime
Actual Event Start Date:	12-December-2022
Actual Event End Date:	12-December-2022

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:	Thursday 30th March, 2023

Source: MA